Catoctin clarion., 1887-05-19
BONDS FOR employees.
MANY MILLIONS RlSkED ON MANS
HONESTY BY CORPORATIONS.
A Novel Insurance Business Which Has
Grown in Recent Ycnrs-Insurancc
Against tho Dishonesty of Employees.
A Separate Branch.


interesting, principally because it
is thrnowest, Isuspcct. 1t is insurance against
thieves,
know Of no more cheering sign in the com
mrtrial skir, uf to-day than the establishment
of thrS" companies. ! know of nothing so
crrlitablr to humanity as their great success
l know of no presentation that SO rcnclusivcly
and h"tly conilndcts the peSsnots and
grow hr>, who imagine humanity to hc retro
grading and morality to be waning, than the
annual report OF these companies for the year
Just closed. To use Il honlely, expressive
phrase, these concerns gamble on the honesty
of man.
They are based ON the supposiOn that the
average man is honest and that lho bulk Of
humanity is made hp OF men aud women who
will not steal. lfthe l">SimStS were ri ght, a1ll
there was merely one such company founded
by Il rrcdulouS uailanthrOpist he would soon
ba II bankrupt, :nl the narrow heads would
huSr their laugh, hut 1t is not 50. There are,
Us has been shown, many snrh companies, and
the president OF ON" OF th" largest and most
cutr,pti,ins ones told me recently that out of
l?,OoD risk ia lSSd there woro only iOl cases
of prlpllation, not all of which 10y uIymeanH
briu.y distinctly and wholly criminal.
"Who pay, for ths-thc companies or the
=
lump, just rs they come, thieves and honest
men ami all Without srrutNy:' These were
til" natural questions.
Sometimes the companies pay for the guar
nutro, il seems and sometimes the employees
pay m other cases an arrangement IS mAdo
by which master and man share and share
aN. in the expense.
Frequently a railroad company, tircd of
the uncertainties and defects Of tn" old fash
lonrl personal TREND Looming system, rr-
solves To do away with 1t and substitutes the
n"W aln! purely business like plan. II goes
to the boudln' company ANA makes con
tract coV"rn,; ali employees VINO handle the
money Of th" company Ihc h"ndlng tTm-
pany sends rrhtr'! blank, very like the ap-
pllcaHS formula Tor siIA Insurance com
panv. 70 each "lnpn"", amt h" writes out the
answers and sends it back, In his replies ho
gives references rs to his character and the
names of former employers, II would ho
very hrIvful, II l!r should ever turn "H' to ha
dishonest to have hal lmi send hi, photo
graph ami a rlp.r pAINlra' DESCRIPTION OF lNm-
sell, Int these the h"hiInI company may NOT
ask him Tor It has VI" rlght to presume that
Ii" VIII som" day u" dishonest. AS the iI@I
cut formulas com" H. lhe h''"tllG company
Investigates ":"A mans references very care
lHIN Now ana rhoiI " Is "h!,%'H to hp'lly
the employing corporation that II VIII! not
CIV" bond for this, that or tn" other man
hhrauSo his references have not been salts
factory. Its iar to presume that IN such
cases tin uniortula'"> are discharged, but
their djs'har5" IS not asked for hy the insur-
onco pr"rIo IAey simply rctlso to be re
sponN".e in such cases,
The mom"nt there Is a shortage III the ar-
conntS oi bonded emp'oyo the employer
notifies the insurance company and thnl com
p"nv pays tho amount of the loss. III all
eases OF dishonesty or doubt the first thing
IN" hondln% company '''''> y 7" pay the claim
Of the loser. hen 1t goes tor the thief. In
n'mlN-nnc cases ont 90 t!undi'H he has hut
run AWAY This is II "nrionr discovery IN TINS
new business II" has been "XIravagant or
l!'''S q ny som" demand h2 r"uI mot meet
an" lt' has drawn 500 or SOTO or $1,000 eN-
';mS to Tut 1t IAr" before his accounts
wor' examined Tho examination has come
sooner than he could prepare for 1t and ne IS
caught In such cases the bonding company
sometimes says, Pay tina. money bac'; to-
morrow morning, and we VIII not prosecute"
In that event, the lnan .-fathrr on brother or
nearest friend raises the money, ana the max
seeks n now place.
But no ronuroIniI" is permitted in criminal
cf~hS, aH. lDr instance, t'Sh III NhlHl ac-
tOHNtN arc altered to conceal theIr, OF iorg"r
les Hro pcrp'tratcd. l'es,tution is often
offered il such eases, bat never accepted.
The iusulanrc company is stern and hearticsS
The man must 60 to jail Ii be runs away,
the company VIII humt him Gown by an
claborat" systcIn Of its own which includes
md augnCnt> atl the other systems. These
companies cannot afford tG roQUet with
crime or 10 lessen the fear, OF evil ducrS
They realize that such Il course would in
crease dishonesty an! soon ruin their bust
ness As it is, ly dealing stcrnly with Offend
"rs, they believe they arc helping to make
man more honest.
This new. Fashioned, comprehensive incor-
poratol brulsman has been welcomed here
| md abroad bv both employers and employees
! 1t used to hc hI~nGrrcabIo for young man
/ who was offered Il position of trust to secure
| persons to 20 on his bond, His best friends
| fought shy of him. told him their partnership
! contracts prevented their signing for him, or
| that, frankly, they could not afford to teke
/ the !iSh Or they went lis commercial bail
and charged him extortionatrIy for doing so
Now he goes to business office, states hi;
| case and for what is 4 mere triile gets a
/ boudSman satisfactory to any one. If he is
! tempted TO steal he remembers that his
/ nonIsnian iSa soulless and stern corporation
! that will show him 10 mercy, and he dcsats
/ On the other Land, the employer never llSe.l to
feel secure with the old fashioned individual
! bondsmcn They Gicd or sold the property on
/ the strength OF which they became bondsmcn,
or they became bankrupt In neither case
did. the culovc alwayS feel that it was